Which SUNY is best for me?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello!</p>

<p>I did a program search on the SUNY site and they gave me the following options:</p>

<p>-Binghamton University
-Brockport, State University College at
-Buffalo, University at
-Farmingdale State College
-Plattsburgh, State University College at </p>

<p>Well here's some quick facts about me. I will be an Out of State student from NJ, and I wanted to apply to a college/SUNY in NY. My combined SAT score is 1530 (490 CR, 520 M, 520 W.) I have a 3.6 Cumulative High School GPA (still a senior.) African- American / Asian Male. Wants to MAJOR in Nursing. I'd love to go to occasional parties, but I can't be bothered with it all the time. I also need my alone time, but I definitely need a good dosage of social life.</p>

<p>Which school is good in it's academics? Campus that have nice building and looks nice and clean? Which school generally has the nicer people? How is the surrounding city and campus safety? </p>

<p>Which SUNY would be the best for me?</p>

2

<p>Do they all have nursing? I know Binghamton does. But your stats seem a bit low for Binghamton. Binghamton is an old upstate city and not particularly charming.</p>

<p>Brockport, Buffalo and Plattsburgh are all way upstate and very snowy and cold.</p>

<p>Farmingdale is on Long Island, so very near NYC. However, it is mainly a commuter school.</p>

<p>Binghamton is considered one of the the best SUNY’s. I would say Farmingdale is the lowest, academically , on your list.</p>

3

<p>I say you can get in to all of them except maybe Binghamton since it’s pretty selective.</p>

4

<p>No question, Binghamton is the premier SUNY school. Your GPA is within their range but your SAT scores are very low for Binghamton. UB is a good school but huge. They essentially have two separate campuses. Depending on where you are assigned to live, you could spend a lot of time on shuttle buses. That said, UB is a good, solid school. I don’t know about their nursing program but I know they have an excellent Dental school so they definitely have good science programs. Brockport is also a good school. Much more “rural” than Buffalo. It’s located halfway between Buffalo (#2 largest city in NY) and Rochester (#3 largest city in NY). Buffalo will get more snow than Brockport and both will get more than Binghamton and the down state schools. But if you don’t like snow, cross Plattsburgh off your list as it’ll get the most of all the SUNY schools you’ve mentioned. Plattsburgh is also very rural. Farmingdale? Is that really a SUNY school? As a lifelong NY state resident, I have to admit I’ve NEVER even heard of it - and my DS2 is a high school senior so I’ve done the college search thing before. For nursing, I would also encourage you to look at community colleges. Erie Community College (half way between Buffalo and Rochester) has a very good nursing program and their graduates have a very high level of job placement. If you’re looking strictly for a 4 year school, I’d say shoot for Brockport as you’re likely to get in and it seems to fit your needs the most but I definitely urge you to look at community college options. Good luck.</p>

5

<p>Thank you so much for the advice!</p>

<p>I don’t mind the snow or how big a school is that much, so I’m not worried about that. I already figured that it would be harder to get into Binghamton so I’ve pretty much crossed that off my list. I think I’ve narrowed it down to either Brockport or Buffalo. I’m not looking into Community Colleges in NY since I could easily attend one in NJ. Which Nursing program is stronger?</p>

<p>I have some questions about the city of Buffalo. I heard that it is extremely dangerous especially in the South Campus. So would I be okay as long I use my street smarts?</p>

<p>I was also wondering if it would be easy to visit my family who live in Union County, NJ?</p>

6

<p>Since you’re a NJ resident, why not go to a college there? Why pay higher OOS costs for a NY public?</p>

<p>What are your parents saying? Are they willing to pay the higher costs for an OOS school? If not, stick to your NJ schools.</p>

7

<p>I already applied to Rutgers, and I am almost finished with applying to Richard Stockton; both in NJ. There aren’t much options in NJ for a major in Nursing, and my parents aren’t going to pay 40K+ for a private university. Both of the universities in NJ are almost the same price as SUNY.</p>

<p>I didn’t ask whether I should apply to SUNY or not. I asked which SUNY would be best for me based on the matches I got from the site. I appreciate your concern, but I’m window-shopping colleges and opening my options. Applying to only two schools doesn’t seem like a solid plan to me. Now, would you, please, be able to recommend any SUNY schools on the list? I don’t mean to sound rude, but I would like some recommendations.</p>

8

<p>I wouldn’t automatically exclude SUNYs on cost, since their out-of-state cost is not that much more than the in-state cost of NJ publics (although if need-based financial aid is involved, it is likely that the NJ publics will have a larger advantage – check the net price calculators). But I wouldn’t exclude the NJ publics either, although it does seem that an “anywhere but Rutgers or other NJ public” attitude is common among NJ students.</p>

9

<p>I actually would LOVE to attend Rutgers, but I’m still waiting on the decision. It’s number one out of my prospective schools. I don’t mind NJ that much, but I’m simply just opening my options.</p>

10

<p>[CollegeData:</a> College Search, Financial Aid, College Application, College Scholarship, Student Loan, FAFSA Info, Common Application](<a href=“http://www.collegedata.com%5DCollegeData:”>http://www.collegedata.com) suggests that the following have nursing majors, although you need to check if they have the exact type of nursing program you want:</p>

<p>Kean
NJ City
NJIT
Ramapo
Richard Stockton
Rowan
Rutgers Camden
Rutgers NB
Rutgers Newark
TCNJ
Thomas Edison
William Paterson</p>

<p>Binghamton
Staten Island
Empire State
Farmingdale State
Hunter
Lehman
Medgar Evans
NYCCT
SUNY DMC
SUNYIT
SUNY Plattsburgh
SUNY UMU
SUNY New Paltz
Stony Brook
Brockport
Buffalo
York</p>

11

<p>^^ Do all of these have nursing?</p>

12

<p>Most of them do, but I don’t want to go to a university and not get a good education. For an example, I heard that Kean University isn’t that great in it’s academics. The others I have no shot at getting in.</p>

<p>Some of them don’t offer a Bachelors in Nursing as well.</p>

13

<p>Ohtacos:</p>

<p>FYI - University Buffalo.
My son will be graduating from this school in May, so I think I can give you some information. For more, check out the Colleges> SUNY Buffalo Thread on this site.</p>

<p>All the SUNY schools have a nice bunch of kids.
Buffalo has excellent science programs and quite a selection of them. If you were to change your major for any reason, you’d still have a school with many science majors to choose form as well as numerous other majors.</p>

<p>City of Buffalo is not bad. South campus is in a suburban area of the city. Across from large shopping center, movies, golf course. One block over, bu the frats is a bad area. Kids know not to walk alone at night. Other than frat parties, no reason to go there. The kids seem to head out in groups and are fine. My son lived on South Campus freshman year and loved it (as most do). The shuttle bus to North Campus for classes was fine. Son never complained about it. As there is a new dorm and more hosing available on North Campus, you should not have a problem getting housing there. The North South Campus issue should not be a deterrent to applying to attending. </p>

<p>Buffalo is cold but so are a lot of places. Should also not be a deal breaker for a kid!!</p>

<p>Transportation- Easy, easy! Son flies home to LI and we fly up to visit. The airport is conveniently located. Only 10 minutes or so from South Campus. A bit further from North. I’m sure you can fly to Newark. Check out Buffalo-Niagara International Airport for schedule or do an expedia.com search suing BUF as airport. That will give you an idea of carriers. Freshman year, before son got rides to the airport, son took a cab to airport and also the subway (is that was it was) which stops right off South Campus) to the airport. </p>

<p>Amherst is the suburban town where North Campus is located. Very nice. While nothing is in walking distance from campus, there is an abundance of stores, restaurants, etc. up there. </p>

<p>Son has no complaints. Very happy with his choice. (and he got into 15 of 15 schools.) He’s had great summer internships acquired form the “job fairs” and also did research on campus. Big school, but offers many great things because of that. </p>

<p>Good luck to you. Nursing is a great field these days! If you have further questions, PM me or post on the SUNY Buffalo thread. I’ll see it and so will others. You can scan similar questions/answers posted. FYI_ Kids seem very happy at UB!!!</p>

14

<p>SUNY Plattsburgh is in the far Northern part of the state only about 1 hour from Montreal which is a plus. It is not a rural campus but a small city that benefits from the many Canadians that come down to visit and to shop. It also gets much less snow than Buffalo even though it will be colder. Buffalo gets a lot of lake effect snow. Check out SUNY Plattsburgh’s scholarship calculator on the school website. You might find that you will get more merit money from them than the other SUNY schools on your list. The school has free shuttle buses that take you from the campus to the downtown shopping area. It also attracts a large number of Intl students to the business dept. They have a strong nursing program with higher admissions standards than the rest of school. Also, transportation to NYC and onto NJ would be be easily arranged via bus, amtrak and the school runs buses for major breaks.</p>

15

<p>Thank you guys for all the info. This is actually making it harder for me. Each person said that each campus was good.</p>

<p>So I’ve narrowed it down to Brockport, Buffalo, and Plattsburgh. I would like to only apply to one, but I might apply to two. Which should I apply to?</p>

<p>So quick overview of my preference:
3.6 GPA, 1530 Combined CRMW SAT. Don’t mind the snow or how a big school is. Good academics, and strong nursing program/major. Like somewhat of a suburban area (Don’t mind rural as long as there is things to do, and a somewhat large city nearby.) Easy access to my family in NJersey during holidays. Friendly people. Easy transition from college to the real world. Internships and Study Abroad. FOOD! Campus safety and looks.</p>

16

<p>Use the SUNY app (unless you now have to use the common app. )</p>

<p>FYI- My son has been in Buffalo and they’ve had less snow that usual these last three years. Global warming? Also has UB shuttles to off campus sites day and night. </p>

<p>I’d pick UB- state university with great reputation and then either Brockport or Plattsburgh- both a state college. Brockport is near Rochester (you’d use that airport), don’t know about Plattsburgh for flying. The U’s tend to have higher stats to get in than the SUNY colleges. Apply, get accepted then take a look. (What one person likes, others may hate. My son hated, hated, hated Geneseo but kids love it and is the highest regarded SUNY college- husband loved it when he took son!) Buffalo is not far from Toronto and kids tend to visit. Ski club is also popular as it probably is at all the upstate SUNYs. Id’ still promote Buffalo to you as they have so many Health Science programs in case you want to change your major. Very diversified student body (ie your Asian/African American heritage) which I also expect is higher than at the SUNY colleges.</p>

17

<p>You’re awesome. Thank you so much for this info. I think I’m going to apply to Buffalo and Brockport. I know Buffalo for sure, but I’m choosing Brockport instead of Plattsburg because it’s closer to Rochester which probably has plenty to do. It has the airport too so I can fly to Newark easily. I’ll only attend the SUNY schools if I dont get accepted to Rutgers.</p>

18

<p>I know this is about SUNY, but would you consider CUNY? The commute into jersey is pretty easy from NYC and of so Hunter has an AMAZING nursing program!</p>

19

<p>I heard that the CUNY schools weren’t that good?</p>

20

<p>CUNY schools are just like SUNY schools- there are good ones and there are bad ones. For example; hunter and city are better than Lehman. </p>

<p>Hunter is a well regarded schools especially for those who go into the medical field.</p>